Mabel Julienne Scott Movies

Its title and 1929 vintage notwithstanding, Dream Melody was a silent picture. John Roche plays Richard Gordon, an aspiring composer who can't get arrested in his field of endeavor. Upon meeting nightclub singer Mary Talbot (Mary Julienne Scott), Gordon is inspired to write his greatest melody. The song catches the ear of impresario George Monroe (Robert Walker), and before long Gordon has scaled the heights of fame and fortune. Mary despairs that she's been forgotten, but Gordon proves otherwise in the film's emotion-charged climax. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Wallflowers was based on a novel by Temple Bailey. The central character, a scheming social climber played by Mabel Julienne Scott, intends to force her stepson Hugh Trevor into a marriage of convenience. But Trevor has developed a fondness for shy Jean Arthur, the "wallflower" of the title. How Arthur overcomes her shyness, and Trevor outmaneuvers his overbearing mother, was the dramatic crux of the film. Leading lady Jean Arthur was in 1928 shuttling from one inconsequential film to another; true stardom would not be bestowed upon her until the talkie era. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Herman J. Mankiewicz was one of the screenwriters of the sprightly Bebe Daniels vehicle Stranded in Paris. Daniels is cast as New York salesgirl Julie McFadden, who wins a free trip to Paris, sponsored by a French perfume company. En route to Europe by boat, Julie enjoys a shipboard romance with wealthy Robert Van Wye (Robert Ames). Upon arrival in Paris, our heroine discovers to her horror that the perfume company has been closed down, whereupon her purse and luggage are stolen by thieves. With nary a penny to her name, Julie takes a job in a fancy modiste. She is sent to Deauville to deliver a shipment of clothes, but through a series of misunderstandings she finds herself in an entirely different town, where through an additional series of misunderstandings she is forced to pose as one Countess Paseda. Things look bad for Julie when the real Countess shows up, assumes that our heroine has been fooling around with her husband the Count, and prepares to shoot everyone in sight. At the last possible moment, Julie is rescued by her shipboard sweetheart Robert Van Wye, making one wonder why she doesn't greet his entrance with a harsh "Where the heck have you been for the past six reels?" ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

His Jazz Bride was based on Beatrice Burton's novel The Flapper Bride, leaving no doubt as to the decade in which this film was made. Bored by her conservative husband Dick (Matt Moore), fun-loving Gloria Gregory (Marie Prevost) kicks up her heels and goes on a pleasure cruise with her best friend. Unbeknownst to Gloria, her friend's husband, a corrupt government inspector, has accepted bribes to overlook certain safety hazards aboard the steamship. Sure enough, the boat sinks, compelling Dick to man a speedboat in hopes of rescuing Gloria. Chastened by the experience, Gloria promises to stop looking for thrills outside her marriage and returns to her wifely responsibilities at home. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on a novel by popular pulp writer James Oliver Curwood, who had a passion for lusty Northwoods melodrama, Steele of the Royal Mounted told the old story of a young man, Philip Steele (Bert Lytell), who joins the Canadian Royal Mounted following a broken engagement. He is charged with capturing a notorious gambler (Stuart Holmes) and does so with dispatch. Along the way, Steele's former girlfriend returns to beg his forgiveness for past indiscretions. Although not totally unfamiliar with the great outdoors, stage and screen leading man Bert Lytell was better known for more topical melodramas. The producer of this film, Vitagraph, was soon gobbled up by the burgeoning Warner Bros. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Since his British accent remained conveniently unheard during the silent era, Reginald Denny made a wonderful all-American hero. He's nicely cast in this romance based on the novel by Jack London. Pat Glendon (Denny) has been raised in the California mountains by his ex-pugilist father (Charles K. French); although the young man is physically powerful, he's so shy around women that he literally runs away from them. Glendon Sr. encourages his son to pursue a career in the ring, and he becomes successful enough to earn the nickname "the Abysmal Brute." His problems with girls continue, however, until he saves society miss Marion Sangster (Mabel Julienne Scott) from drowning. Their acquaintance turns quickly to romance, but Pat has trouble adjusting to the social graces, in addition to hiding his profession from Marion. Not unless he can strip away all hint of his former bashfulness will he have a chance to beat out his romantic rival and win the girl. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Author Gertrude Atherton wrote this story especially for the screen; it is supposedly based on a true story that happened in San Francisco's society circles. Langdon Masters, a newspaper editor and writer (Lewis S. Stone), falls in love with Madeline (Mabel Julienne Scott), the neglected wife of the aristocratic Dr. Howard Talbot (Charles Clary). Although Masters and Madeline decide that they should not see each other, when Talbot discovers the affection between them, he demands that Masters leave San Francisco and his newspaper career. Masters agrees and wanders to New York's notorious "Five Points" district, where drink and degradation follow. Madeline, fed up with her husband's cruel nature and cold demeanor, finally obtains a separation. She heads for New York and proceeds to track down Masters. She finds him in one of the city's worst dives and proceeds to pull him out of the gutter. With her love, Masters is able to once again lead a useful life. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

After a string of successes including Outside the Law and The Virgin of Stamboul, Universal gave director Tod Browning's next film "special" status. But Browning, perhaps, tried a little too hard to live up to that in his attempt to make Edna Ferber's story Fanny Herself seem larger than life. In reality it's a simple tale, similar to, though not as good as Humoresque. Molly Brandeis (Grace Marvin) makes great sacrifices to send her son Theodore (John Davidson) to Europe to develop his talent as a violinist; so does his sister Fanny (Mabel Julienne Scott). But his violin playing is no match for his immoral nature, and he turns out to be a disappointment to his family. Mrs. Brandeis dies broken-hearted and Fanny, who has given up what she thought was her one chance at love, decides to go to Chicago. She forges a success as a business woman and is planning to go to Honolulu with her unhappily-married boss when she comes face to face with her old sweetheart. They realize it's not too late for them and they wind up happily together. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

For some mysterious reason, producer Adolph Zukor decided to set the slapstick aside for Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle's first full-length feature. Instead, he cast him in this Western comedy-drama, with an emphasis on the drama. In addition, Arbuckle's role of sheriff "Slim" Hoover was a secondary one, in spite of his star billing. The sheriff figures very little in the plot, which involves Dick Lane (Irving Cummings), a prospector given up for lost and his sweetheart, Echo Allen (Mabel Julienne Scott), who decides she loves Jack Payson (Tom Forman) anyhow. Dick's gold dust has been taken by Buck McKee (a villainous Wallace Beery, who stole the show), and McKee left him in the desert to die. Dick's brother Buddy gets tangled up in McKee's affairs and a hold up they commit is pinned on Payson. Eventually Slim rounds up the U.S. Cavalry and captures the bad guys. Lane is located, but he is mortally wounded, and Echo and Payson are happily married. The final shot shows Arbuckle, alone, saying, "Nobody loves a fat man." Nobody loved this picture, and it was a disappointment to his fans. A couple of interesting notes -- Arbuckle's longtime pal and former collaborator, Buster Keaton, stopped by to play an Indian extra. Also, the picture was based on a stage play by Edmund Day and during its long theatrical run the sheriff was played by Macklyn Arbuckle -- no relation to Roscoe. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi